New York Rangers forward Filip Chytil is set to rejoin his teammates in Calgary on Wednesday after it was determined he did not suffer a concussion in a collision with teammate K’Andre Miller on Thursday.
According to a league source, Chytil is still listed as day-to-day and may not resume playing when the Rangers face the Flames on Thursday. But, after a medical consultation outside the Rangers organization, Chytil was cleared to join the team.
Given Chytil’s history, there was concern in the aftermath of the collision in the second period of the Rangers’ 3-2 win over the Sharks that Chytil was headed down the same hard road he went down last season. He missed all but 10 regular-season games and six playoff games last season after suffering a concussion in November of last year and then a relapse of symptoms following a fall during an optional practice on Jan. 26.
Chytil, who is in the second year of a four-year deal worth $4.438 million per year, was off to an excellent start this season, with nine points in his first 14 games. His line, with Will Cuylle and Kaapo Kakko on the wings, was the Rangers’ most consistent through the first five weeks, not having been on the ice for a goal against while scoring 11 goals.
After Chytil returned to the ice for Game 3 of the Rangers’ second-round series against the Hurricanes last year, he spoke of the excitement of being back playing and felt no hesitation returning despite the team declaring him out for the season in January.
“It was amazing,” Chytil said of taking and giving hits early in that game. “It felt so good. I never felt better that somebody hit me or that I hit anybody. I even got a stick to the face once, and I was, ‘Yeah, give me more.’ It gave me the adrenaline that I missed in the last six months.”
He spoke in the same confident tone before this season in training camp. At 25, he’s still young despite having played 352 games for the Rangers; he thought of nothing else this summer but getting back to being a hockey player.
“If I was scared,” he said in September, “I could play somewhere in the fourth league in Czech and enjoy my life.”
Jonny Brodzinski took Chytil’s spot on the third line in Seattle on Sunday and was likely to do so again on Tuesday with the Rangers facing the Canucks in Vancouver. Brodzinski played 57 games last season, most of them at center while Chytil was out. General manager Chris Drury did prioritize finding a veteran center at the 2023-24 trade deadline, acquiring Alex Wennberg from the Seattle Kraken.
Coach Peter Laviolette has been relying on Chytil and his line during some early-season bumps for Mika Zibanejad and Vincent Trocheck; both the Rangers’ top two centers scored in Thursday’s 3-2 win over the Sharks.
(Photo: Sarah Stier / Getty Images)
